The Legend of an Immortal Witch Hunter
by Sandylee007
Summary: CONTAINS ELEMENTS FROM 'Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters' BUT KNOWING THAT FILM ISN'T A MUST Hansel / Clint Barton / William Brandt has been around for a very long time due to a well meaning curse. He has no idea which death will be his last. He's been living on borrowed time until a face from the past appears. With help from unusual friends will he avoid facing his final death?
1. A Couple of Resurrections

A/N: I really should've been typing something else today. But this idea… It's been TORTURING me and I HAD TO let it out. A few people have been asking me for an official crossover. Soooo, here we go. (grins)

DISCLAIMER: (howls with laughter) AS… IF…! Nope. I absolutely don't have the kind of money that'd give me any sort of an ownership over anything of the three franchises mentioned. But a girl can dream, right…?

WARNINGS: CROSSOVER, violence, language, a great amount of weirdness… ya know, the usual plot…

Awkay. Because it's getting a bit late AND I'm supposed to make it to bed at some point… Let's go! I really hope that you'll enjoy the ride.

* * *

 _ **The Legend of an Immortal Witch Hunter**_

* * *

A Couple of Resurrections

* * *

 _A Very, Very long time ago_

* * *

It was a disaster zone. Blood… A collapsed building… In the aftermath of the chaos that recently took place the only sounds penetrating the long night's quiet was the ragged breathing of two people. One of them was battered and bruised, the other dying.

Gently and quietly, checking carefully that they were safe in the shadows, Gretel eased her brother to a lying position. She was determined to not focus on the blood. Or the fact that her brother was barely conscious anymore. Barely alive.

If she wanted to save him she'd have to _focus_.

He shifted just a little although it had to hurt hellishly. The quiet, wet cough tore at her chest as much as it tore his. "Gret…"

Her eyes narrowed, focusing firmly on the book she'd been skimming through. It was one her mom once owned, and for so long it'd been waiting in a secret hiding place… Her hands were shaking pitiably. "Be quiet", she snarled. Although in full truth she wanted to hear his voice, wanted to be sure that he was still… "I'm trying to save you and it's hard if you keep distracting me." Finally she found the correct page, the right spell. She swallowed thickly and took a deep breath.

This had to work. There was no other way. She needed this to work.

Hansel shifted yet again as she began to mutter the words. "… don't! …" There was something akin to despair in his voice. She paid no attention.

She should've been paying attention.

It seemed to take ages before she was through with the spell. Next came the part she wasn't looking forward to. She gritted her teeth, then grabbed a knife which she brought to her skin. And sliced. As droplets of red began to fall on her brother's far too pale skin she focused all her attention to his eyes, which were struggling to stay even halfway open.

 _Don't you dare… Don't you dare… Don't you…_

She never had the chance to finish the third repetition.

* * *

Hansel was barely alive. Let alone conscious. He did his best to concentrate on his sister but it was getting harder and harder.

What was she doing? Something stupid… A spell…? _No…!_

It could go horribly wrong. What if she'd get herself hurt? What if…?

Everything was hazy. A bit like a dream. She was muttering. And then looking at him with, tears she probably wasn't aware of filling her eyes.

He wanted to tell her that everything would be okay, whether he lived or not. She was strong. She'd…

All of a sudden she gasped, a hand flying to her stomach. He frowned, wondering what was wrong until his gaze traveled downwards. If he wasn't dying already what he found would've certainly killed him. It was also the last thing he saw before life left him.

An arrow had pierced her, having gone in from the middle of her back and emerging through her abdomen.

* * *

They both died there, less than two minutes apart. Lay right next to each other. Only one of them gasped back to life.

* * *

 _Present Time_

* * *

" _Saturn, what the bloody devil are you doing?_ " Benji Dunn's voice exclaimed through an ear comm, uncomfortably loudly. " _Get out of there, now! This… This is Jupiter-level stupid!_ "

The scolded man groaned and gritted his teeth. "Not helping, Pluto." A swift kick sent a yet another hostile to a wall and down.

" _The plan was to get that disc, not to take down the whole terrorist cell!_ "

The running man scoffed and rolled his eyes. "This was _Jupiter's_ plan, remember? Since when have those ever gone according to the plan?"

" _Very funny._ " Ethan Hunt didn't sound amused. " _Now, radio silence, remember?_ "

By then the quite busy man had made it to the building's rooftop and close to the edge. Despite his usual luck he was somehow hoping to make a safe escape. He was preparing for one and for a witty comeback when the realization that he wasn't alone froze him to the spot. Even more effective was the ice cold recognition that traveled through him. "… you …"

The woman was right in front of him in less than a breath, so close that their noses nearly touched. She appeared very young and beautiful with her large, dark eyes. Wind made her long, fire red hair dance in enchanting patterns. Lethally alluring. She pressed a finger to her lips and smiled.

* * *

The next thing Benji saw through a monitor was William Brandt flying down, down, down.

* * *

The second Ethan heard Benji's quiet, shocked words through his ear comm he was already running. Even if it was hopelessly too late. " _Bra… Saturn, he… I think he's…_ " The man trailed off.

Ethan's heart was thrumming wildly as he ran. Frustrated fury made it childishly easy to take down the five hostiles he faced along the way. He kept going, ignoring the heavy amount of bruising he had and the fact that his ankle barely allowed him to stand. Until he reached the scene and froze uncharacteristically.

William Brandt lay there on the asphalt. Eyes closed and horribly still. There was a small puddle of blood underneath the man's head and a thin trail of red ran down the chillingly pale cheek. Hard as Ethan's eyes looked they didn't spot even the faintest trace of a breath.

Ethan felt sick to his stomach. He didn't notice that he was barely breathing himself. The world seemed to fall away.

… _NO!_ …

There was a reason he preferred working alone. A very good one. _This_ was it.

Ethan's whole body, especially his heart, felt ridiculously heavy as he began to move towards his deceased teammate. Only half of his attention was on the task while he made sure that there were no hostiles left. Most of him was concentrated on a new, grim task.

Confirm death. Report. And no matter what, don't leave behind…

Ethan didn't pause to wonder why his eyes were blurry all of a sudden. His infuriatingly and surprisingly unsteady fingers were already reaching out towards his friend's neck. Until there was a loud, sharp gasp and those eyes flew open before William's whole body jolted.

There were less than a handful of situations that would've startled Ethan as badly as that one did. That would've really, honestly caught him off guard enough to make his heart skip a beat. Which was saying a lot, considering everything he'd faced.

And then William was already sitting. Eyes bright and alert while they scanned the environment, finally focusing on the rooftop the man came down from. Pointing a very strange looking firearm the kind Ethan had never seen before. The kind that didn't seem to belong to the real world.

"There was a woman, up there." William appeared both scared and furiously determined, even if the man did a remarkably good job at trying to keep his emotions in check. Displayed by a man who was _dead_ less than two minutes earlier those emotions were shockingly vivid. "Did you see her?"

For a few seconds Ethan stared. Then shook his head slowly. "No, I didn't."

Something told Ethan that he should prepare himself for facing a lot of things that didn't seem to belong to the real world.

* * *

The small room of a safe house was startlingly quiet. Especially considering that one of the three men occupying it was Benji. The dead man walking sat on a chair, arms held awkwardly on his legs now that he was finished with ruffling his hair to a rather amusing new look. Ethan stood before a window, his back to the other two and radiating such tense energy that would've chilled most people. And Benji paced. And paced. Even if his legs felt dangerously weak.

"You… You fell." Benji's voice was so high-pitched that under different circumstances it might've been amusing.

Ethan shook his head. "No, Benji. He died." Usually the agent covered his emotions remarkably, unhealthily well. This time he didn't bother to even try.

The third man cleared his throat, shifting with discomfort. "Look, guys… I get that I owe you an explanation. And I'll give you one, although it's a pretty long story. But… If the woman I saw there is who I thought she was… We'll need backup, okay? So…" He reached out towards his cell phone, slowly. "I'm gonna make a phone call. Don't… shoot me, or anything."

"Would you come back to life again?" Ethan inquired.

Benji blanched, his shocked eyes widening. The third, surprisingly alive man wasn't sure if he should've rolled his eyes or get prepared to die again. "He was joking." He hoped that Ethan was joking.

The wait was tense. Eventually a very familiar female voice picked up. " _What's wrong?_ " Of course she knew that something was wrong.

"Hey, Tasha." He swallowed thickly. "I, ah… I may need a little help with something… Do you think the team's available?"

* * *

TBC?

* * *

A/N: So… There. Quite the start – and soon Hansel/Clint/William's two teams will meet, it seems. (I think I'll be calling him Hansel in the future since… Well, it's the original one, heh.) But what in the world is going on? Who is after him? Will he have enough lives left to make it through this?

What do you guys think? Should this continue or be buried right from the start? The word's yours, now. Honestly? I'm quite nervous, and very much looking forward to / dreading to hear what you think.

Thank you so much for reading in any case! Who knows. Maybe I'll see you again?


	2. Great Many Introductions

A/N: It took me a few days longer than it should've (winces) BUT now I'm finally back with an update. Yosh…?

THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, for your absolutely AWESOME reviews, listings and support! This is something totally new for me – and the first story from me with 'Mission Impossible' on board – so it's AWESOME that you're all taking this journey with me. I really hope that you'll keep having a good ride.

Because stalling is just rude… LET'S RUMBLE! Team encounters ahoy.

* * *

Great Many Introductions

* * *

So, considering everything that'd just been revealed – all the lies that'd been brought out into the open – maybe the rooftop of an extremely high building wasn't the smartest place to go.

Ethan Hunt didn't do sitting down and talking. Especially when he was… displeased, and confused. When he got angry he punched people or shot someone, sometimes both. How was he supposed to do _that_ when the one responsible for the inner turmoil was a friend? Even if it was possible that said friend would've come back from a gunshot wound to the head.

"You know… It'd make me feel a lot more comfortable if your hand stopped twitching above your concealed gun." William shrugged. "Just a thought." At least the man appeared to feel as uncomfortable as Ethan did. It was a small comfort.

Ethan's eyes narrowed, turning towards the direction from which the silhouette of an aircraft was approaching. His head ticked a million miles per hour, processing. "So no one from the IMF knows?"

William shook his head firmly. The man's expression tightened to a painful extend. "Nope. It was the kind of a risk I wasn't interested in taking." The agent looked away, folding his arms over his chest. "I told the wrong person everything once. I'm not going to make the same mistake again."

Ethan frowned. Although he was still trying to swallow everything he felt a twinge of sadness and dread. He could only imagine…

There were so many things Ethan would've wanted to ask. And he figured that he deserved some answers. But they'd have to wait. Because just then the jet they'd been observing landed and three people emerged. To Ethan's surprise he recognized them all.

Tony Stark, a billionaire. There was once a party to which he went posing as the genius, planning on getting some information out of a… rather interesting woman. The second arrival was Steve Rogers, or Captain America as he better remembered from childhood stories. A living legend, brought back to life from ice. The third person… The IMF-agent's eyebrow arched. "It's been a while." The great Black Widow. He expected to never meet her again, even after hearing rumors that she'd swapped sides since their previous encounter. Which wasn't his proudest moment.

Natasha shrugged. "We've both been busy. I'm sorry about Dublin." Sincere enough, although no emotions were visible or audible.

Ethan shrugged. "It wasn't the first time I've been poisoned." The first time it was done via lipstick, though. Quite the St. Patrick's Day…

That was when a fourth person appeared from the jet. Such Ethan didn't remember seeing or hearing from before. She was significantly younger than the others and looked around with suspicion until she noticed William. The two of them exchanged a few words, nods and brief smiles. The agent was able to read the name 'Wanda' from William's lips.

"So." Tony stepped forward, focusing on William. There was tension that didn't seem to belong there on the billionaire's face. "Funny thing? I saw this really creepy YouTube video of a man falling down a building a couple of minutes before it was removed. And that guy kind of looked like you. Does that have anything to do with why we're here?"

* * *

The introductions were brief and stiff. One might've said quiet if Benji and Tony weren't involved. Neither side was sure if the other could be trusted and the only thing – only person – linking them had, apparently, been keeping massive secrets. For people who'd always had trust issues that wasn't an excellent place to start from.

They were told a story that sounded like a silly movie or a fantasy book meant for teenagers. Of siblings who once hunted witches for a living. Of a man who'd been walking the Earth for centuries because his sister couldn't bear the thought of losing him.

"So…" Tony frowned. "You're seriously telling me that you're", a finger pointed at Steve. "older than this guy here?"

Well. If that was the easiest bit about the informational overload to grasp… "Yup."

"How many times have you died, anyway?" Whatever amusement there may have been faded away like a switch had been flicked. "Okay, sorry. That was…"

"I have no idea." A pair of usually bright eyes darkened significantly, the shadows of several lifetimes and countless of deaths flooding past them. "I… tried to keep track, at first. But then I decided that it wasn't a good idea."

The silence that followed lasted for a long time. None of them was quite sure what to think or say. "Is that woman who attacked you a witch?" Natasha asked at last, always practical and ready for a mission. She went on after a brief nod. "Who is she? And what does she want?"

"I don't know her original name. These days she's known as Phoenix." The apparently immortal man gritted his teeth. "I'm pretty sure that she was checking if the rumors she may have heard about me were true." He shivered visibly, his eyes shifting towards the room's window. "I've barely even aged, since…" He swallowed. "She wants to become invincible. What better way to ensure that than to make sure that even death won't stop her?"

"What will she do if she obtains that power?" Ethan inquired sharply, obviously already preparing himself for a fight. The man didn't ask what it'd do to him. They could all guess entirely too well.

A single dark look confirmed that it was an option which didn't bear further thinking on. There was a heavy sigh. "Her plan just has a tiny problem she doesn't know about." The practically interrogated man looked away, focusing on his restlessly twitching fingers. "I'm _not_ immortal. I can only die a certain amount of times before… well, it's a permanent deal. And I have no idea how many lives I have left. Whenever I die… There's no telling if I'll come back."

That shocked the whole room into a long silence. "So… We go after a witch that has… who knows what powers? And we're supposed to destroy her?" Benji's eyes were wide and his hands were moving animatedly. "Will, it's usually your job to point out how insane the things we do are!"

Everything froze for a while. Several eyebrows rose. "'Will'?" Steve repeated slowly, trying to figure it out.

The unwilling center of attention shrugged. "When you've been around as long as I have… Well, it's a good idea to go by several names. I've pretended to be my own son, grandson and… You get the picture."

"How many IDs do you have right now?" Natasha asked. She sounded genuinely curious. In the middle of all the… witch hunting stuff this had to be comfortingly normal.

They really needed to check their definition of 'normal', the man with many names mused. He counted briefly in his head. "Three that I use frequently. A few more for emergency situations."

The others processed for a few moments. Tony pursed his lips. "This is getting just too confusing. We're gonna have to settle on one name. What's the original?"

There was a long pause. The answer that eventually came did so reluctantly. "Hansel."

For a couple of seconds the rest of them stared. Laughter then erupted. "Seriously? Hansel, as in that kid from that fairytale?"

The man in question shrugged. "Some people I met started telling my story forward. And all of a sudden it was in a book." He winced. "I've always hated my name."

"Aww, you shouldn't. It's cute", Tony protested with a smirk. Then clapped his hands together. "Now, children! We have some work to do. Phoenix to find."

"I managed to get a tracking device on her before she dropped me", Hansel pointed out. "Latest IMF-technology. It should be active by now."

"'IMF'?" Natasha inquired before the other Avengers got the chance to.

"Let's… just save that story for later, yeah?"

Tony seemed genuinely excited. "How about that, we're getting somewhere!" His eyes darted around the room's computers and filled with disapproval. "You guys have better toys around here somewhere, right?"

Benji shook his head to clear it. Too shocked to be insulted. "Sure, sure. I'll come with." The smaller man was still shaking his head as the two headed out of the room. Nothing more was spoken until Benji seemed to imagine that the rest of them wouldn't hear. "This… This is like meeting that bloke from 'Doctor Who'. What was his name…? Harkness… something."

Tony's eyes filled with excitement. The man grinned. "You're a 'Who' fan, too?"

There was a faint smile on Hansel's face as he watched the two leave. Then, far more solemn, he focused on the others and sighed. "Thanks, for doing this. I wasn't sure…" He trailed off.

Steve smiled a bit. "We all have our secrets." The Captain shrugged. "There'll be a lot of questions, later. But for now I'm glad that Tony may finally stop teasing me about my age."

* * *

While the others tried to digest everything that'd just been revealed Wanda found Clint – or perhaps rather Hansel – from a room which turned out to contain a massive amount of weapons. Instead of the rather chilling items she focused on her friend and shifted. "I've… been trying to understand why you invited me here as well. I'm not ready for missions yet."

Clint swallowed and gritted his teeth. He glanced her way but couldn't quite bring himself to look properly. "You'll have to be for this one." He sighed, clearly wondering how to set his words. "If things get as bad as I suspect they will… You may be the only one who can stop her. Because right now you're the most powerful White Witch in the world."

Wanda stared. Then burst into laughter. This had to be some sort of a weird and stupid joke. "I was experimented on. My powers…"

"… weren't something scientists granted you. They were always there, hiding and waiting." Clint's eyes were full of sorrow. He knew that her life would never be quite the same after this. "What do you imagine kept the mortar shell from going off when you and Pietro were waiting to be rescued?" He tried to offer a small, comforting smile, knowing how much those memories hurt. "HYDRA… They were interested because they already suspected that you were special."

Wanda had no idea what to think. Her head was spinning. She tried to focus on breathing to control the hurricane of thoughts and emotions.

She felt that she was different, even _before_. And everyone saw it. That's why she and Pietro never made a lot of friends. It was alright with them, just the two of them against the rest of the world. Their parents were always so very protective of them. Now, finally, it all made sense. Wanda wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh, cry, scream or all of those simultaneously.

So much for being _Scarlet_ Witch…

"Wanda." Clint's voice was sad and gentle. "I know that this is a lot to take in…"

"How does Phoenix know what I am?" Because she felt like there was still a part of the story missing. She searched her friend's gaze, preparing herself for something absolutely horrible. "Who told her?"

"No one had to." Clint paused for a few seconds, setting his words. "She… was adopted to States when she was just a little girl, barely old enough to remember her birth family. Those fragments of memories she had… She held on to them tightly. And when she was old and powerful enough she began to search for them. To discover that she had a niece and a nephew."

Wanda's eyes widened and her heartrate sped up considerably. "How did you find out about me, then?" She didn't mean to sound accusative. But under the circumstances… Could she really be blamed?

Clint didn't seem offended. "I kept an eye on your mom, long before the two of you were born. I'd already… met her sister and wanted to see what her intentions were. I had my suspicions since I saw your powers. Still it was a surprise to have her name linked to you." He sighed. "I… wanted to tell you alone because I know that this is a lot to take in." His soft tone provided much needed comfort. "I needed you to know because I want you to be prepared. This isn't going to be easy. And I think we should tell the others but it's your call."

Wanda shrugged. "Since when have I ever wanted it easy?" She lifted her chin and met the archer's eyes. "We tell them. Then we find Phoenix and destroy her."

Of course they both knew that it wouldn't be quite that easy. But where was the harm in being optimistic for a moment? Clint grinned. "Sounds like a plan." He nodded towards the room's door. "Now let's back before the others start throwing punches. Or worse."

* * *

At around the same time Phoenix was approaching a massive building in one of the city's most expensive corners. She now knew for certain that she found the right person. Watching the man gasp back to life… She couldn't remember the last time she would've smiled like that.

A solid plan was already forming in her mind.

Then she entered the building's main hall to discover that she wasn't alone. A man was occupying her favorite armchair, flipping through a book. He was admittedly quite attractive with his dark hair and bizarre eyes that lingered between blue and green. The clearly expensive clothes and his general aura helped enforce the impact.

Still, he was an intruder. Her eyes narrowed. "Unless you have a death wish I'd suggest explaining right now what you're doing here."

The man looked up at her with a charming smile only a fool would've trusted. "I've heard a lot about you, Phoenix. And it seems that we have some… common interests."

She folded her arms. She was certainly still entertaining the idea of killing him. But perhaps he'd be of some use first. "You may have heard about me. But I can honestly say that I've never had the good fortune of hearing about you." It was meant to be an insult and sounded like one. She had an inkling feeling that she'd seen his face somewhere, though.

The man chuckled, then got up and put away the book. As he took two steps towards her his eyes seemed a great deal greener than before. It was almost as if he was… glowing. "I'm Loki."

* * *

TBC

* * *

A/N: And here we go. All players are in their places. And now we've got Loki along, whatever HIS plan may be… Things are about to get messy, messy. (winces) Let's hope that our extended group of heroes manages to keep it together and beat this new threat.

Soooo… Was that any good, at all? Or a hopeless case? The comment box down below would like to know. (BTW, don't be alarmed if it takes a while before your reviews show up! seems to have some problems which they're currently hopefully fixing. All reviews will pop up once the problem's sorted. Until then they're safe in my mailbox.)

Until next time, folks! I really hope that I'll see ya all there. Take care!

* * *

Ande: Now how could I say 'no' to that? (smiles) I REALLY hope that you'll enjoy what's to come as much.

HUGE thank yous for the review!

* * *

Occea: I'm thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the first bit so! We'll see what's to come next. Hopefully you'll enjoy it as much!

Colossal thank yous for the review!

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Guest: I just couldn't resist this idea when it came to me. (grins) I'm REALLY glad that you liked it so. Hopefully what's to come manages to deliver as well.

Massive thank yous for the review!


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